Newt Gingrich accepts Donald Trump debate invitation, Ron Paul declines

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich announced Saturday he has accepted an invitation to attend a presidential debate moderated by celebrity real estate investor Donald Trump.

"Newt has accepted the invitation from Newsmax for a December 27 debate in Iowa," the campaign's official Twitter account read.

Gingrich is the first candidate to accept the invitation to the debate, which is being sponsored by Newsmax, a conservative news outlet. Most of the other campaigns have not yet weighed in on their attendance, but former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman and Texas Rep. Ron Paul already rejected theirs.

A Huntsman spokesman said he looks "forward to watching Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich suck up to Trump with a big bowl of popcorn" and Paul's spokesman Jesse Benton said the event was "beneath the office of the Presidency."

"Mr. Trump's selection is also wildly inappropriate because of his record of toying with the serious decision of whether to compete for our nation's highest office, a decision he appeared to make frivolously," Benton said in a statement.

The debate will be held on Dec. 27 in Des Moines, Iowa.

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